Attachment for serving receptacles



Nov. 12; 1929. 'P. w. CURTIS ATTACHMENT FOR'SERVING RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 1927 awvenl oz PRUL W- CURTIS have provided regulations ering of all kinds of refreshments served in I Patented Nov. 12, 1929 PAUL W. CURTIS, OF

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DALLAS, TEXAS, Assrenon. T TRAY srlnvron COMPANY, or

DALLAS, rnxasn conromrrron ATTACHMENT ron snavnve REGEPTACLES Application filed January 4, 1927. Serial No. 158,995.'

v expense of'the meal or other refreshments served. 7

It is the purpose of my invention here disclosed to provide means attachable directly to the receptacle on which it is used, ably applied to the rim thereof, if used on a l tray, usually bydetaehable connection, which will readily function as a holder for the cover or for the said card, and may be readily re-' moved therefrom, as by a swinging movement of the cover frame by relative motion between portions'thereof, so that the tray or other receptacle with its contents maybe quickly uncovered for emptying the sa'me,the

holder attachment readily released from one 2 of the receptacle rims to remove articles held and the card or slip detached from therein, the frame, so that the receptacle may be bodily removed from a particular support leaving the other articles with the refreshments served at the location desired. Itis an object of my invention to arrange such attachments so that any one thereof, any two of'the'm, or all'of them may beused on the same receptacle at the same time, and

.35 that when used together, as will be explained, V

no one will interfere with either of the others. Since the demand for service trays and supports therefor has become so great in later years, and is now increasing, some authorities for requirlng cov-,

" the open air, until it reaches the point of con-' sumption, and it is a special object of this improvementtdmeet unduly inconveniencing served, and yet fulfilling the object regulations to protect food from outside contamination under proper conditions, and

withoutexcessively increasing the costof the 0, products so served.

prefersuch regulations without the guests to. be of such With these objects in view,I'have pro vided the structure, and devised the arrange ments proposed for accomplishing the results enumerated, as described in the accompany- I ing specification, recited in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying I drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a detachable frame for a'tray for holding a cover above the latter; I r i L Figure 2 is a detail view of one ofthe corner posts with its connections with adjoining parts shownin section; u I

Figure 3 is a detail of link members used inthe frame, a portionshownin section;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a clipmember shown attached to one of the posts of the frame, certain parts being in section Figure 5' is a perspective of one member ofachp; y

Figure 6 is;a slmilar view of anothermem- 'ber of the same clip element;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of air other form of clip used in the same relation to other parts; V

Figure 8 is a perspective View of another manner of attachmentof a'holding frame to a receptacle;

I Figure 9 is a further modified form of holder frame;

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional viewof I the parts comprising the eye connecting] the vertical posts of the frame to-the horizontal members;

Figure 11 is a ve post with'the eye member thereof being taken on line 1 1-'11 of Fig. 10; and t Figure 12 is a sectional view of the parts taken on the line 12'12 of Fig. 10.

Inthe drawings is illustrated a receptacle A, shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1,8, and 9, l as a tray provided with an outer rim portion 10 upon which are attached the devices claimed in this application, and in full lines 'Upo n this bead 11 is mounted certain structical sectional view of the 85 v ture which will be described in detail, other improved structure. being applied'to the inclined wall 12 of the rim, as will be later explained. i

Because of the provisions of certain regulations in communities where effort hasbeen' made to protect refreshments served in the open air from contamination injurious to health, I have provided a frame 15 for supporting thereon a proper'covering for refreshment serving receptacles which, as shown in Figs. 1 to 7, comprises strands'16, 17 and 18 in parallelismand mounted upon corner standards or posts 13, the rear standards 13 having curved loops 14 at their bases connected by an integral strand 19 which is i designed to hug'the rim underneath the said head, as shownin Figs. 1' and 2. The forward posts 13 have loops 20 that are more open than 14 thereby providing connecting strand 21- somewhat outside, the vertical plane H of the be'ad, a's shown in Figs. 1,4,8 and 9,

, there being a finger hold 22 in said strand'21 frame parts.

making convenientthe manual lifting of the front portion of-the frame 15 when it is desired to do so. Q

The rear posts 13 have upwardloops 23 ir- Iregularinoutline, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,,

the said loops providing a vertically-elongated eye which comprisesmeans for latching V certain frame; parts in desired 'POSllllOIl relative to the posts, such as one side 24 of the loop having an}. internalshoulder 25 facing downwardly to oppose upward movement ofv thesaid frame parts connected in said eye,

On the other side26 of the said loop23is pro- Vided an upwardly facing exterior shoulder.

27 to oppose V downward movement of such shown in Fig. 1 connected by end strands 28 having loops or eyes 29 .on their rear ends which are adjustably connected in the eyes 23 of the rear standards 13, the rear end 30 of the eye 29 being shown in F ig..2 as, contacting the shoulder 25, and the forward endof the eye designated by numeral 31Yshown engaging the outer shoulder 27 whereby the horizontally extending parts 28 are sustained in such positionas illustrated until; the eye:

29 is moved manually out of contact with such shoulders, so that the parts 28 together with I the strand 17 carried thereby may be moved 32 and 17 are threaded, and the upper ends. of the front standards 13 having similar loops downwardly, beingno longer lockedin the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. v l y g y The strands17 and 18 are connected at their 1 q ends by cross strands 32, the end strands 28 having loops 33 in which the integral parts 34 enclosing the common parts32'andj18. It

thus results that the posts 13 hold the strands '16 and 18 in proper position, while theshoulderedeyes 23 may support-the end parts 32 and 28 in the position shown in Fig. 1. By

this arrangement of parts, the finger hold 22 The strands 16 and 17 are may be raised thereby lifting the forward posts 13 carrying with them the forward frame sections including parts 18, 20 and 21, and finally raising the parts 17, and 28 also soothat the receptacle uponv which. the frame is attached will be whollyuncovered, though 7 the parts 14, 16 and 19 may be permitted to remain in their first position, the 17 and 18 with loops-33swinging on part 17 over rearwardly beyond the rear outline of the frame. ,If it isdesired,.the entire frame 15 may be detached from the receptacle by mere- 1y lifting the loops 14 and the strand 19 from the rear edge of thereceptacle.

In Fig. 8'is shown a somewhat. modified form of the cover frame. Here the connecting strand 19 of Fig.1 is not used, the lower ends of theloops 14 having short extensions 35 directedtoward each other which are connected by oblique strands 36 directed toward the opposite lateral edgeof the receptacle but following the bottom of the same exteriorly thereto, until the endsj 37 thereof-meet and loop 38 in the forward strand 21, as indicated v In Fig. 9 of the drawings is shown another are connected toeach other and t6 the hand slight modificationof the coverframain this instance the strands 16 and 18 of the timeture in Fig. 1 being wholly omitted, as well strand 17 being supportedsolely by the loops in the, ends of'th e sections 28 and 32.

device 39 for clamping the edges of a napkin or a menu card to the frame. In these vie'wssuch device or clip is shown as formed of two parts a'lower or permanent part 40 having an upwardlydirected plate end; 41 and anupwardly bent portion 42'iiit'egr'al v therewith together with an outwardly bent ear 43, the end part4l being ordinarily welded or soldered to the several 'postsor' stand- [as the rear strandel the single connecting In Figs. 4, 5 and 6, is shown an attaching.

ards 13 ofthe frame. .A longer and movable section 44is provided with an upper curved" portion 45, lower inturned portionsj46 and intermediate tongue 47 which, when the two sections4 0 and:44 are united, :is applied to the part 43 which latter resists outward move; ment of theportion 45 away from the standard. The two' parts 40 and 44 are, hinged together in the manner, shown inFig. 4.] Another form of clip is shown inFig. 7 ,in which the springpressed clip part 48,.is pivotally I mounted on the ear 49 ofthe sleeve 50 which is mounted directly upon thegstandardhlip Thej pivot structure ofthisfclip is formed of a. coiled spring 51 whose end 52 is bent around the plate to resist movement thereof on the.

25 as shown in Fig. 2, but provided with an external shoulder 57 which is lateral of the plane of the bar 28 and engages the strand 58 of the loop 59 on the end of the bar 28 in this structure. The loop 59 is rather elongated more in this form of lock than in the form shown in Fig. 2. Otherwise, the function and general structure of the two forms are quite similar.

The attaching device 39 may readily serve to hold a napkin therein or any card or slip furnishing any information to the guest concerning the refreshments available, their cost, or both.

Having described my improvement and its uses, Whn t I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Protective attachments adapted to be mounted detachably upon the rims of a tray for use inserving refreshments therein comprising, a skeleton frame device for supporting thereon a flexible protective cover and including vertical standards attachable to said rims, and spring clips mounted on said standards, respectively, for holding the several edges of said cover.

2. Serving devices of the character de scribed for serving refreshments in a tray comprising, a skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover for the contents of the trayand including vertical standards having looped feet'for detachably engaging the rims of the tray, and clips mounted on said standards for holding detaohably the edges of said cover.

3. Attachments adapted to be mounted upon the rims of a tray for use in serving refreshments therein comprising, a metallic skeleton frame for supporting thereon aprotective flexible cover over the contents of the tray and including vertical standards having clamping feet detachably engaging the said rims and cross strands connecting the upper ends of the standards, one of said strands serv ing as a pivot on which one portion ofsaid frame may be manually swung upward and backward when desired to open the cover and expose the contents of the tray for service, and clips mounted on said standards intermediate their ends for detachably engaging the edges of the cover. Y

4. Attachments adapted to be mounted upon the rims of a tray for use in serving refreshments therein. comprising, a metallic skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover. over the contents of the tray and including vertical standards having clamping feet detachably engaging the rims and cross strands connecting the upper ends of the standards, and clips mounted on the vertical standards for holding detachably the edges of the said cover and comprising a hinged element manually movable relative to the other structure thereof for opening or closing the clip.

5. Serving devices of the character described for serving refreshments in a tray comprising, a skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover for the con tents of the tray and including vertical standards having feet arranged in pairs, feet of each pair being connected by integral strands, and looped to detachably engage the rims of the tray 7 I 6. Attachments adapted to be mounted upon the rims of a tray for use in serving refreshments therein comprising, a metallic skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover over the contents of the tray and including vertical standards having clamping feet detachably engaging the said rims and cross strands connecting the upper ends of the standards, one of said strands serving as a pivot on which one portion of said frame may be manually swung upward and backward when desired to open the cover" and expose the contents of the tray for service.

7. Attachments adapted to be mounted upon the rims of a tray for use in' serving refreshments therein comprising, a metallic skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover over the contents of the tray and including vertical standards having clamping feet detachably engaging the said rims adjacent the corners of the tray and also including spaced but parallel strands mounted upon said corner. standards, the rear standards having upward loops providing vertically-elongated eyes which have one side thereof comprising'an internal shoulder facing downwardly, and theother side of the eye having at their ends bycross strands having eyes connecting said elongated eyes in such relation that the said downwardly directed shoulder opposes upwardmovement of the eye and the said exterior shoulders oppose scribed for serving refreshments in a traycomprising,a skeleton frame for supporting thereon a protective flexible cover over. the

contents of the tray and including vertical standards having looped feet detachably engaging the rims of the tray and cross strands connectmg'the upperiends of the standards,

the I an upwardly-facing exterior shoulder, and the parallel strands connected,

two of said looped feetbeing connected byan integral strand.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of December, 1926.

PAUL W. CURTIS. 

